Forever
by theybecameanimagi
Summary: '"You got to be joking, Doctor. Harry Potter can't be real! I mean, they're some of the best stories of my time, but they're still just stories." "You think I'm joking?" The Doctor asked with a smile, his eyes twinkling. "Well, Rose Tyler, I am about to prove you wrong!"' Ten/Rose, Remus/Tonks


Rose and the Doctor were waltzing around the TARDIS console to something from the fifties.

"You think this is good Rose Tyler, I ought to take you to one of the best pubs in the wizarding world! You'd love it! They have great music! Rock, and pop, and classical, orchestra…"

Rose stopped dancing and snorted, crossing her arms. "You got to be joking, Doctor. Harry Potter can't be real! I mean, they're some of the best stories of my time, but they're still just stories."

"You think I'm joking?" The Doctor asked with a smile, his eyes twinkling. "Well, Rose Tyler, I am about to prove you wrong!" The Doctor sprinted over to the other side of the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers; the smile on his face if anything had only gotten bigger. The rotor moved up and down and soon they were at their location.

"I still don't believe you," Rose said, giving him one of her tongue-in-cheek smiles. "and I am gonna prove you wrong, Doctor."

Rose flung open the door to the TARDIS, and stepped outside:

It looked like an ordinary village street.

"Aha!" Rose triumphantly stuck a fist in the air. "You see, just a normal little village in England with a pub and a church. Nothing fancy. Not magic, or wizards."

Not that Rose didn't want it to be real. She did. It just seemed so hard to believe that out of all the places they'd been to, the one place she'd want to be real the most, could actually exist.

It would even be worth the Doctor gloating for weeks that Rose hadn't believed him about wizards.

The Doctor was examining the streets. They were quiet, except for maybe a woman with a stroller and an old man with a shiny black lab on a red leash. The TARDIS had landed next to a lovely flower garden filled with roses and lilacs, and daffodils.

"Hm... not seeing anything magical, but if us muggles could, they'd have been found out ages ago!" The Doctor offered his arm to Rose. "Come on, Rose Tyler, let's see where the wizards are hiding!"

Rose linked her arm with the Doctor's and continued the conversation as they walked passed a big brick church with stained glass windows. Next to the church was a graveyard containing crumbling headstones with faded lettering. "So, wizards-and I'm not saying I believe you-might be real. Who are you pals with? Albus Dumbledore? Remus Lupin?" The Doctor and Remus would probably make good friends, now that Rose thought about it. They were both extremely kind and far too hard on themselves.

"Eh, yes the first one, not the second, although I'd like to meet Remus Lupin. Lovely chap. I'd offer for him to travel with me if I meet him." They walked down a lovely row of stone cottages, several of which had potted plants out front. Rose could smell the plants from where she was walking next to the Doctor. Rose even spotted one with a pond in the backyard. Still nothing magical, though it was a lovely place.

Rose wasn't sure what intrigued her more, The Doctor being friends with Dumbledore, or the idea of traveling on the TARDIS with the Doctor and Remus Lupin. "Why would you ask Remus to travel with us? Assuming I'd be still invited if you'd be all buddy-buddy with Remus."

"Course you would be invited," The Doctor said with a smile. "Why wouldn't I want Remus? He's clever, very clever, resourceful, compassionate. Everything I'd need if I was offering someone time and space."

"Oh, so you don't just invite young women then," Rose said teasingly, thinking of herself and Sarah Jane.

"Oi!" The Doctor glared down at her. They paused in front of a pub with a wolf carved into the wooden door. Rose glanced up and saw a sign labeling the restaurant as _The Wolf's Pack_. "I say here is a good place to start, what do you think, Rose Tyler?"

"Oh yeah," Rose said. "Pubs have loads of gossip. If there's any wizards about people'd probably notice eventually. Do you remember that Muggle at the World Cup that everyone had to keep Confunding because he kept getting suspicious-and don't tell me you were there, Doctor!"

Rose pushed open the door and they stepped inside. It had a bar to right, where Rose was standing, and tables to the left side of the room, closer to where the Doctor was standing next to Rose. There were two squishy blue couches in the corner near a window where a stream of sunlight was coming in. Rose and the Doctor sat down on one of the couches, and sighed. The sun warmed her skin well; Rose could stay like this all day. Rose opened her eyes after a few seconds and glanced at the Doctor, who was smirking.

"Fine, wouldn't want to boast, although, the 2016 Cup is much better, I'll take you to that one instead. Don't bother with the 2014 one, opening ceremony was a mess-"

"_Doctor_!"

"Anyway, yes Rose Tyler I remember exactly the Muggle you're talking about from _Goblet of Fire_. A Mr Roberts who kept noticing the odd gold that people keep trying to pay him in and kept going on how people were dressed 'like weirdos' as he put it. Yes, if there are wizards here, Muggles will notice. They're not stupid."

It was Rose's turn to smirk. "Look at you, talking like you're not a Muggle."

"Wellllll, I'm not, I'm a Time Lord. _You_ are the Muggle, Rose Tyler."

"That is low, Doctor."

"Yes, well, rude and not ginger that's me," the Doctor said. He stood up. "I'll take the side with the tables, you talk to people up at the bar."

Rose nodded. She caught the smell of grease on the air. Her stomach growled. Did this place have any chips? She walked over to the bar, and glanced up at the chalkboard suspended above her listing the menu. Rose's stomach let out another groan when she saw there were chips. "I'll have the fish and chips, please."

"All right," the bartender said. He was a small and chubby little man with greying hair. He looked as though he might be Italian or Spanish, although he sounded British. Hm a bartender. Surely he knew a lot about what was going on about here? If people were wearing sweaters on warm days, or talking to walls or something odd like that, he'd know.

"Anything odd happen around here lately?" Rose asked him. She noticed that his nametag read "Stephen."

"Not anything out of the ordinary," Stephen said. "Normal day. Nice sunny June day, don't you think?"

Rose bit back a sigh. This was the last thing she wanted to have happen. Oh well, best to roll with the conversation for now, and she if she could break away and find someone more chatty. "Oh, yeah, lovely weather. Anything worth seeing here? Me and my friend happen to be visiting."

Rose wasn't given the chance to reply because the door opened. A man with greying hair stepped in, and as he came further into the light, Rose's jaw dropped. She knew that wrinkled face and those patched robes, even if she'd never met the man.

It was Remus Lupin.

Rose's heart skipped a beat. Remus Lupin was one of her favorite characters! Although it was only April 2006 for Rose, she had found the Harry Potter books, including book 7, in the TARDIS library. She had immediately started reading it. It was several hours later that the Doctor had found Rose sobbing in a blue armchair, at first rambling about how he'd been worried-how could she vanish like that? But then he'd saw the book Rose was reading and the tears pouring down her face, and had simply asked Rose "Who was it?" "Lupin! And Tonks!" Rose had replied with a sniff. The Doctor had sat down next to Rose, taken the book from her, and read the rest of the epic tale aloud.

Several minutes later, they were both crying about Snape. After they finished, they'd both started half-ranting half-crying over how she could kill of Dobby and Hedwig as well.

After that, the Doctor had cheered Rose up by telling her J.K. Rowling had written the screenplay to a Harry Potter side story, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_, and that he just so happened to have all the whole set in his library.

"The first one doesn't come out until 2016," The Doctor had said, setting the book on a side table next to the armchair. "But I have them all waiting in the movie room, if you want to watch them."

Rose had given him a smile, her tongue poking out. "If we're doing this, we're doing this right! I want you to take me to the release night for each movie!"

And he had. It had been a blast, over six hours of laughter and crying-and occasionally tossing popcorn at each other.

And now she was starting at Remus Lupin.

And that wasn't just any woman next to him in a white sundress. Rose knew that heart-shaped face and spiky pink hair well, because she'd often thought they would make good friends-it was Nymphadora Tonks.

It was then that Rose realized her jaw had dropped and she managed to pick it up so she didn't look odd by gaping. How far was this for them? Were they married yet?

It was then that Tonks spoke, her voice loud and clear and filled with joy. "We're getting married! Does anyone want to be our witnesses-we need two!"

Rose's eyes went around the room and she saw the Doctor with a similar look on his face-as if Christmas had come early. There were only a few other people in the pub-a middle aged balding man with his face in a paper, an old couple, and a pregnant mother with two young boys. No one else offered other than Rose and the Doctor. Rose was not aware of how the trip towards them went, except that it involved falling over a chair and bruising her knee. The Doctor wasn't much better off. Rose noticed him nearly trip over one of the boys belonging to the pregnant woman as he dashed over.

"We volunteer!" The Doctor and Rose said in unision.

Both Remus and Tonks looked conflicted, their eyes wide, eyebrows raised, and yet smirks on their faces.

"Little eager, yeah?" Tonks teased.

Rose beamed at the Doctor and nudged him. "Oh, uh, me and my friend just _love _weddings. Big romantics, we are." Or at least, Rose was for Remus and Tonks. They'd been by far her favorite couple in the Harry Potter books. Rose had been torn between wanting to slap Remus for leaving poor pregnant Tonks, and yet at the same time, seeing how much Remus had thought he'd ruin her life, Rose had also wanted to hug him. She'd found herself getting teary eyed all over again when she'd read the bit when Harry, Ron, and Hermione were listening to Potterwatch about them getting back together. Remus deserved all the happiness in the world, and to see himself as the world saw him: selfless and kind and hardworking no matter the obstacles.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose," The Doctor said, gesturing at Rose with a smile. "And who is the lucky couple?"

"Remus and Tonks," Tonks said. "It's lovely to meet you both."

"Yes, well, if you want to, come with us," Remus said in his hoarse voice. He held the door open for the Doctor, Rose, and Tonks.

"So," Rose said, as they stepped out into the sunlight, suddenly aware that it wasn't everyday that you got to talk to your favorite literary couple. "How long have you two lovebirds been together?"

They paused in front of the restaurant. It was nice to see they weren't the type who'd refuse to chit-chat with witnesses. Not that Rose thought they'd be rude.

"That is a complicated question," Remus said, with a frown. Rose hoped they weren't about to get another 'I'm not good enough for you' rant.

"He spent a lot of time in denial," Tonks added. "Thought he wasn't good enough for me."

"And I still think that," Remus said firmly.

"So, you convinced him to come around?" The Doctor asked, who seemed as amused at this chance to talk to Remus and Tonks as Rose was.

"Yes," Tonks said, linking hands with Remus, a smile on her face. "It wasn't easy at all, but now we're finally going to be happy!" Both Tonks and Remus beamed at each other and Rose's smile widened. They were just so cute… Rose hissed in The Doctor's ear "We're going to watch _the _Lupin and Tonks! Get married! Harry didn't even get to see that!"

"I know!" the Doctor whispered back in an excited tone under his breath.

"Are you two going somewhere for your honeymoon?" Rose asked. Both frantically shook their heads.

"No," Tonks sounded a bit sad. "We'd like too, but we have obligations at home."

By 'obligations' she meant the war against Voldemort.

"Well, we should get going!" The Doctor said. "Don't want to keep whoever is officiating this thing waiting. They walked away from the building and it was as they did that Rose remembered-she hadn't gotten to eat or pay for her chips. Not that it mattered, compared to watching Lupin and Tonks marry and she could do it later, but she did feel guilty for not paying, and Rose found herself glancing back at the building. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. A sign saying 'free-lunch Wednesday?' If so, there wasn't one. The only thing new was the man Rose had saw reading a newspaper leaving the pub.

Rose took the Doctor's hand, and tried her best to listen in on Remus' and Tonks' whispers to each other. She would worry about lunch at a much later time. Sadly, Rose couldn't hear any of Remus and Tonks' conversation, which she supposed was only fair-it was their wedding day. Give them a bit of privacy. Finally, Remus and Tonks stopped in front of the brick church that The Doctor and Rose had walked past earlier.

"This is where we're planning on getting married," Tonks said. "It's a lovely little place…"

However Rose stopped listening, because that same man was headed toward them. And it wasn't like church would be in session at 2:00pm in the afternoon.

"Doctor," Rose said, not caring about cutting off Tonks. "I think that bloke over there is following us. I saw him in the pub earlier, and I saw him leaving after we did, and now here he is, again." Perhaps there was just a chance that he was coming to tell Rose that she'd forgotten to pay, but these were dark times for wizards. Better to be paranoid than be the reason everyone was in danger.

The Doctor and Remus and Tonks glanced at the man, all looking concerned, when the man pulled a wand out his pocket, rapped himself over the head, and vanished.

"He's a wizard… And I'm guessing not the good kind," The Doctor said, as Remus and Tonks voiced their shock over The Doctor knowing about wizards.

The Doctor put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Rose, get Remus and Tonks in the church and keep them safe, I'll stir up a protection field around the church using the TARDIS." With that, the Doctor dashed down the street.

"Well, I'm not hiding," Tonks said, whipping out her wand. "I'm an Auror, if this bloke's a Death Eater, I'll fight him."

"Same," said Remus, who had pulled out his own wand as well. "Although you'd do well to explain to us how you know about wizards. Either you're a Muggle, or you've learn perfectly well how to blend in around Muggles."

What would the Doctor do? Oh yes…

"No, no one's fighting!" Rose said. "We're going in the church, we'll lock up all the doors, and think of a plan. Now go!"

"But I know that bloke!" Tonks protested as Rose flung open the church door as they followed her inside. "I've fought him a few times on Auror missions, he hates werewolves-"

All of the color left Remus' face. Rose found the latch on the door and latched it behind her. Just in time, too, as she felt someone banging on the door.

She leaned against the door. It was a lovely church, all stone columns and a shiny wooden floor. The stained glass windows portrayed pictures from the Bible. Rose could see a robed man heading towards the three of them, looking confused.

"What's going-"

The door rattled again.

"Hurry up, Doctor!" Rose mumbled.

As if the Doctor had heard, the TARDIS materialized behind the last pew.

"I've already got a forcefield set up around this place," The Doctor said, stepping out of the TARDIS. "You two are set to have a perfectly happy wedding. He won't be bothering you."

Both of them looked relieved.

"That's wonderful," Tonks said. "We can get married now, and we'll be safe." She took Remus' hand who quietly removed it. "But what's with the blue box? Is it magic? Are you wizards?"

"I would like to know that too!'' demanded the pastor in robes as purple as his face.

The Doctor went on to explain about being a Time Lord and the TARDIS, and traveling all of time and space. None of them wanted to believe the Doctor, even after stepping inside the TARDIS and seeing that it was bigger on the inside-that was no big deal for wizards, nor was the TARDIS appearing in the church.

Finally, Rose cleared her throat. "All right, if you don't believe us, why don't you let the Doctor and I take you somewhere special to get married? To make up for the creepy stalker? I mean, if we're lunatics, you've nothing to lose, right? You've got the wands, after all. And if we'd wanted to kill you, we could have just let that man back there get you."

So, the group piled in the TARDIS, including the minster, where the Doctor started pulling levers and pressing knobs again.

The TARDIS landed on a planet with a rocky shoreline, that spread out into a lake, that was surrounded by rocks all around. The sun was about to go down and giant-bat like birds swooped through that air.

Tonks gasped. "They'll never believe this back home!" Remus looked like he'd been hit with a stunning spell.

"This is wonderful, but please don't expect there to still be a wedding," Remus sighed. He turned to Tonks, taking her hands. "I love you… There's no denying that now, but I'd be ruining your life. You wouldn't be safe with me. What happened a bit ago with that bloke is proof."

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Probably shouldn't interrupt, but it seems like you'll both in equal danger separately as you would be together."

Rose took the Doctor's hand. "Might as well take it from us, danger is always a bit better when you have a partner."

"So are you married?" Tonks asked curiously.

Both The Doctor and Rose blushed deeply.

"No way, we're not married!" Rose said, although she couldn't keep a smile off her face as she said it. She and the Doctor were just friends… Although she did like him… A lot. Her whole face had to be red by now.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Shall we get on with things?" asked the Minister. "Where would you like it to be?"

"How about over by the lake?" Remus asked. Tonks nodded in agreement.

Rose couldn't blame them for wanting it near the lake. The sun was starting to go down, making the whole sky blaze orange, and making the water look orange as well, reflecting both the clouds and rock formations that seemed to stick up out of the ground as though they had grown there.

The group walked towards the lake, occasionally being covered in shadow as one of the huge reptilian birds flew over. They reminded Rose of dinosaurs. She should ask the Doctor what they were later.

"You sent me a note saying you had your own vows," The Minister said.

"Yes," Tonks replied with a nod. She took Remus' hands into her own. "Remus, I know this isn't going to be easy. I know you don't feel like you deserve love, but you do. And during those times when you can't love yourself, I'm going to be there to love you. You worry you can't protect me-that's okay, I can protect myself. I could go on forever like this but… What I'm trying to say is we're going to make it. All we have to do is try. I love you. I'm going to stay with you forever."

Remus' eyes were widened with awe, as though he could not believe the woman standing in front of him was real, as though he was under a spell. Remus took a deep breath, before he started to speak. Rose sucked in a breath.

"Tonks, when I'm with you, I feel years worth of sorrow being lifted away. Every time I've seen you since meeting you, you've never failed to make me laugh. I… I haven't been this happy since Lily and James died. In a way, when they died, my whole world blew up, and in one night, I lost all of the people who cared about me. I mean, maybe I got back Sirius, but it wasn't the same. We had both been through too much to ever go back to school days. But you make me feel like I'm young again. When I'm with you, I feel that hole when I lost my friends, it's repaired. When I'm with you, I don't feel like a monster-"

"You're not-" Tonks started, but Remus held up a hand for her to stop.

"Because I love you, I want to give you everything, even if I can't give you much." He laughed. "Let's be honest, I probably can't even give you kids. But… I know it's cliche, but I can make you smile. I can accept you for who you are, and cheer you up when you're feeling down, and take care of you when you're not feeling well… Just like you do for me. I love you." Remus nodded at the Minister.

"I now declare you bonded for life." White sparks flew from from the Minister's wand and Remus and Tonks shared a long, deep kiss. Rose counted and it was nearly ten seconds before they let go of each other. The Minister glanced at the Doctor.

"Um, how long will it take us to get back?" he glanced at his watch. "I have somewhere to be in an hour."

"Probably longer than it did to get here, about eight hours," The Doctor said. "But no worries, The TARDIS can still have you there at your desired time. She is a time machine, after all. Feel free to go and rest and take a room on the TARDIS."

Remus turned to the Doctor. "Thank you. This was too much. I don't know why you offered-"

"Consider it the kindness of a stranger," The Doctor said. "Now go and get some rest. Eight hour flight ahead, after all. Pick a room on the TARDIS. My time and space ship is your time and space ship." The Doctor looked pleased at the pun. Tonks glanced at Rose.

"I know two people in denial when I see it… Don't be afraid to tell him how you feel." With that, Tonks grabbed her new husband's hand and they walked towards the TARDIS together.

Rose wanted to tell the Doctor how she felt, but she was too afraid. She remembered what he'd told her when he'd meet Sarah Jane-that the age gap was too much.  
And she remembered even more clearly what he hadn't said: that he couldn't handle losing her.

What was there to say? The usual banter? Perhaps that could ease some of the tension. She glanced at the Doctor, who was looking out at the lake, cheeks still red from Tonks' parting comment.

Rose raised her eyebrows teasingly at the Doctor, a smirk on her face. "You do realize what will likely be going on in one of your rooms on your precious ship, Doctor? I'm surprised you're not wanting to sanitize the place."

"Oh, let them have some fun, Rose Tyler; it's their wedding night." The Doctor waved a hand. "I can scrub whatever room they use down with bleach later." The Doctor gave a fake shudder. "Really, it's no big deal. The thing I love about humans, you see right there with Remus and Tonks! Things may be hard, but they're still going to make a go of things, Rose! You humans, you adapt, I love that!" His face swept into an excited smile. "Anyway, it was a lovely ceremony, don't you think?"

"Yeah, Rose agreed. "I loved Tonks' speech. Put a knot in my throat, it did. Especially that bit about her staying with him forever."

"What about me, Rose Tyler?" He turned and looked at her. "How long are you going to stay with me?"

"Forever," Rose said. She had no doubts about that. The Doctor needed her, and she would stay with him her whole life.


End file.
